Russell LaraSigning school: Western New Mexico University (NCAA Division II)Hometown: El PasoClass: SophomoreOn why he chose WNMU: “It really wasn’t a hard decision. That’s where I was before I got to Midland College, so I’m excited to go back. They’re having a really good year. This year, they’re ranked seventh in the nation in Division II. Hopefully I can help them out a little bit more.”Notables: Because he spent his first semester of his collegiate career at WNMU, Lara said he is familiar with the coaching staff and the school and felt comfortable. He added that WNMU, located in Silver City, is not too far away from his hometown of El Paso. He also looked at UTEP. ...Lara is the 18th-ranked NJCAA golfer according to Golfstat.com, and in his two-year career at MC he has a 73.15 scoring average. ...Plans on majoring in business administration.

The Midland College golf team admits it didn’t play its best during the Omega Treating Chemicals Invitational at Green Tree Country Club over the last two days, but the good news is that it still found a way to win.

Behind the strong play of sophomores Ryder Skillern and Russell Lara, the Chaparrals fired a 305 in Tuesday’s final round to finish four strokes ahead Ranger College with a 54-hole total of 892. New Mexico Junior College finished in third with a 899 total, while Odessa College’s B team was fourth with a 901.

Skillern won the medalist title by one shot over Ranger’s Luke Atack and Texas Tech’s Nathan Weant as he finished with a 69-75-72--216 total, while Lara finished in a tie for sixth individually with 73-74-74--221.

Despite the finish, the Chaps believe they can do better, which is going to be crucial as they begin national tournament qualifying play next month at Tanglewood Golf Course is Pottsboro.

“We had the same kind of struggles,” said Lara, the sophomore from El Paso. “We had one or two guys that didn’t play particularly well, but we had two or three other guys who kept the team together, which was good. This was a big win, especially with us not playing particularly well. To come out on top just shows that when we do play well we’re tough to contend with and compete with, so we’ll take this as a stepping stone to the road to nationals.”

For Skillern, the medalist title was the first as a collegiate golfer for the sophomore from Alpine as he played very well throughout the whole tournament. On Tuesday he followed Monday’s scores of 3-under par 69 and a 75 with an even par 72, despite battling windy conditions throughout the morning.

“I played pretty solid,” Skillern said. “My goal was to shoot even par for the tournament and I did it. It was good enough to take the title. The key for me was trying to eliminate the mistakes and trying to keep the ball in play, play smart really. Today, I hit the ball well. It was just a grind one hole to the next. I just stayed with it.”

Added MC coach Delnor Poss, “Ryder Skillern was sensational. His 72 today in this weather was probably equivalent to about a 67 on a calm day. To go along with the 69 he shot in the first round, it was an outstanding tournament for him.”

Skillern said this win only pumps him up moving forward.

“It’s a good feeling,” he said. “I know my team is expecting me to play well at this tournament because I play well at this course. I’m glad I didn’t let my team down.”

Poss said Lara’s play showed that he was closer to getting back to the strong form he’s shown before.

“I played really well given the conditions and it being really windy the last two days,” Lara said. “I felt I played really well especially coming off of last week. At Sugar Tree I didn’t play as well as I had hoped, so I’ll take this and keep going.”

As for the rest of the Chaps on the five-man team, Oswin Schlenkrich finished in a tie for 15th with a 73-75-81--229 total, David Wicks shot 79-73-78--230 for a tie for 19th, while Trace Morrow played despite a knee injury he suffered the day before and shot 75-81-83--239 for the tournament.

Poss said he is unsure how Morrow’s injury will affect the Trinity grad moving forward but at least the Chaps take some positives out of this tournament.

“It was a much needed win, especially given our performance in the last event,” Poss said. “They kind of redeemed themselves with that performance. I thought it was a really big step in the right direction.”